Some of our readers will recall the feature we ran in 2011 when author Gavin Bantock, who grew up in Barnt Green in the 1940s and 50s, launched a book about his eccentric family’s exploits and their memories of the village.

Co-written and illustrated by two of his brothers, Cuillin and Anton, Hail, Salubrious Spot (How’s Your Rupture?) is a highly entertaining read for anyone who either remembers Barnt Green in those days or wants to learn about its more interesting characters.

Gavin, who has lived in Japan for many years, was recently contacted by a fellow ex-Barnt Greener who wanted a copy of the book for his father’s birthday.

The book is currently out of print, but Gavin would like to make people aware that he can send it out via email in a series of nine PDF files, at a reduced cost of £20. It can then be read, including all illustrations, on iPads, iPhones or e-readers via a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat.

If you would like to order the book in this format, you can do so via PayPal at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or by UK bank cheque sent to Gavin at 208, Forest Town, 2-23-34 Hikarigaoka, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba-ken, 277-0065, Japan.

Meanwhile, Cuillin Bantock is now working on a book about the brothers’ grandfather, composer Sir Granville Bantock, who lived in Barnt Green for the last two years of his life.

This is soon to be published in the UK with the title A Musical Wanderer. Cuillin is also editing Sir Granville’s diaries and these are likely to be available on the Worcester Archive website in the near future.

Finally, Gavin has just re-published his prize-winning epic poem on Jesus Christ, Christos, Lovesong of the Son of Man, completely revised 50 years after it was first written.

Although this is not directly connected with the local area, he was living in Barnt Green (and Oxford) when he wrote the 8,000-line poem. It won two major awards, in 1964 and 1966, and was reviewed in several Midland newspapers and national magazines.

This book is now available from Amazon or Brimstone Press (http://www.brimstonepress.co.uk) for £20. You can read a very full description on the Brimstone website.

What Villagers have been saying about this story . . . most recent comments first

HAVE YOUR SAY . . .

What do you think? Share your views by typing in the box below.>

Name:

Email:

Location:

Please enter the word you see in the image below (this keeps the spammers away):